Knowledge without Force
by reminiscent-afterthought
Summary: Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.
1. A Game of Hunt

Author's Notes

I've already gotten the last bit written, but no first bit till now. Silly ne? Oh well, I do that sometimes.

Keep in mind that this is rated M for a reason. Should be obvious from the genres though.

Enjoy, and tell me what you think. Gets way interesting later on, trust me.

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

A Game of Hunt

Kouichi drummed his fingers gently on the strings of his brother's cello to tune the sounds, wrists carefully flat, floor pin loosened and extended so the cello body say easily between his knees.

Kouji, arms crossed and leaning against the bedpost, grinned. 'You play that thing better than I do. And I have to wander what it's still doing in my room.'

His brother returned the smile, right thumb at the side of fingerboard and index sitting on the A string, beginning to gently pluck at the strings. A four times, then D, G and C with a steady count.

'What are you playing?' The younger twin asked curiously.

'Just warming up,' the other replied, continuing the steady pizzicato, before stopping as the phone suddenly rang downstairs.

The longer haired of the two growled in annoyance. 'I'll get that.'

'Suki ni shiro,' the slightly elder of the two replied, lips twisting into a slightly playful grin as the other scowled at his stolen line.

'Don't even try Ni-san,' Kouji deadpanned. 'You've got the wrong tone.'

The other laughed outright at that, before drumming the strings again, drowned by the phone still ringing downstairs. 'The phone's still ringing.'

Kouji harrumphed and trudged downstairs to silence it, a little irritated.

_It better not be a telemarketer_, he scowled, picking up the receiver.

'Moshi moshi, Minamoto-' He stopped as the dial-tone registered in his ears.

That always irritated him. Not being able to see someone face to face, he felt that others should at least attempt to hold onto common courtesy while on the phone, where meanings couldn't be mistaken or warped or lost. One should at least have the decency to go through with a call once they've started, making someone stop what they're doing to answer the phone only to be greeted with a dial-tone.

'Wrong number,' he scowled when he got back upstairs and to his brother, still rhythmically drumming away.

Kouichi caught the annoyance. He knew his brother well enough for that. 'Cheer up,' he said instead. 'What are we doing with the rest of today?'

'The rest of the morning you mean,' the other corrected. Because the twins lived so far apart, they only were at the other's house once every other month, and since school ran on Saturdays for half a day, it coincidently meant that the travelling twin would have to leave as soon as school finished to make it to the other's house before dinner, and then leave straight after a late lunch the following day to make it back.

'Are you going to play on that thing all day?'

'Of course not,' Kouichi smiled. 'But if we want to meet the others for lunch, you'd better hurry up and get ready.'

'And you?' Kouji raised an eyebrow, realising his brother was already dressed in his blue and white jumper and black pants.

'I was cold,' the other shot back defensively. 'And excuse me if I didn't want to be wandering around the house in my pyjamas, especially since the rest of you slept through the morning grocery delivery.'

The younger twin looked down at his pale yellow shirt and pants.

'Oh yeah. Oh, stop snickering.'

'I'm not,' Kouichi responded, not very convincingly as he was trying to stifle the laughter.

Kouji threw a stray jacket at him, causing him to put down the cello to worm his way out.

'No fair.' But he smiled when he noticed the other undoing his shirt buttons with one hand and looking for a clear and hopefully warm shirt with the other. 'You need to clean up more otouto-chan,' he said teasingly. 'You might actually be able to find something in here then.'

'I don't know how you can stand clean rooms,' the other muttered, finally locating a shirt and taking the jacket that was tossed back. 'I've having a shower.'

'Because messy ones make me claustrophobic,' Kouichi replied, trailing after his twin.

'You're not following me.'

'Of course not. I'm heading downstairs.'

'Oh all right.'

The phone rang again, causing Kouji to groan. 'I'm not getting that.'

'Oh, I'll get it.' But he didn't like phones any better than his brother did.

It took a couple of minutes to get to the phone in the hallway, namely because he had a tendency to take them slowly. Even if it had been four years since that day, the image of his near death was still rather firm in his mind.

'Moshi moshi, Minamoto residence.' At least he managed to get the entire greeting out before the dial-tone sounded.

Kouichi blinked at the handset, before replacing it, only to jump slightly as it rang again.

He snatched it quickly, repeating the same greeting.

'Kouichi?'

That was Takuya's voice, sounding rather suspicious. 'Did Kouji put you up to it?'

'Iie,' the elder twin replied. 'Did you ring twice?'

'I was going to ask you that,' the brunette replied, before making a shrugging sort of noise. 'Oh well, maybe it was the wrong number or something. You two still coming?'

'Hai. We'll be there in…' He looked at the clock in the living room. 'Half an hour.'

'We're roping Kouji and Junpei into a soccer match so be ready.'

Kouichi laughed and hung up with a farewell. He knew his brother didn't like soccer all that much. Martial arts were one thing, running around like crazy after an elusive ball was not.

Upstairs, he heard the sound of water turn on. It was a bit of a cold day for Autumn, and he couldn't help but wish he had brought a change of clothes so he could have a shower too. Only, there hadn't been much point for a single night.

He eyed the phone, a little apprehensively. It wasn't normal to get three calls so close to one another, especially since there was now proof that they weren't from the same person. At least, the first two wasn't from the same person as the third.

He must have jinxed the phone, he thought, as it rang again.

Like before, he snatched it up.

'Moshi moshi, Minamoto residence,' he said a little hurriedly. If whoever it was had been tired of waiting for somebody to pick up, there was no way they'd hang up that fast.

But as he replaced the phone in its cradle after hearing the dial tone again, he was wondering if he had been reading too many mystery novels recently.

He shrugged it off when the phone didn't ring again. Probably just a wrong number, he thought.

* * *

><p>The catch sunk as the receiver was placed into it for the fifth time. The first time, the recipient had sounded rather annoyed. As had the second. The third and fifth times had been a third person, one he had not been after, so he couldn't really care less what <em>he<em> thought. The fourth was even more annoyed.

He'd talk to them later. No need to_…_worry them as of yet. There was plenty of time.

He looked around his little laboratory. The basement always provided a good field. But this time, that field was spreading. Beyond the computers networked together to give maximum capacitance. Beyond the years of labouring in the darkness only to constantly fail. Not many people knew what had really happened that day four years ago, when an apparent electrical surge had hit the city, short circuiting the train lines and cutting life support in the nearest hospitals in Shibuya and its neighbouring districts.

Fewer still knew of the people who had passed through the gate that had opened in its midst. And only six children knew the truth of what had happened in that other world, and the power that existed there. Out of those six, one had remained in the real world, never truly touching that force that opened the gate and unlocked the potential behind it. Out of the five remaining, only two still had that power. Two who had reached and surpassed the transcend level of evolution, who had unlocked _his_ programme to its ultimate stage.

The charging process was complete. He only needed their help, and the final steps of his plan would come into fruition.

There was no need to rush though. Haste always resulted in something backfiring. Hadn't he known that well enough with the fiasco with the warrior of darkness? A boy who hadn't even set foot in the world and changed its play so much, going so far as to turn the tide of battle and rekindle his own flame in the process? A wanderer; it was interesting, but it was also useless to him. No-one could touch a wandering spirit without crushing it.

He watched two near-identical boys leave a double-storey house. On another screen, another boy left as well. On the other three, a girl clutching a container, a younger boy with an envelope he had just pulled out of the mailbox, and an older one, all heading towards the same place.

A reunion they had better savour. The board would have shifted by the next one.

Hmm…nice weather for a walk. And a bit of prey-stalking.

* * *

><p>'Hey guys.' Tomoki waved a hand, coincidently the one that held the letter that had been sticking out of his mailbox. 'What's up?'<p>

'Oh, what's that?' Izumi asked curiously, looking at the white envelope sealed with a red love heart. She suddenly grinned. 'Ooh, does little Tomoki-chan have a secret admirer?'

'Oh don't do that Izumi,' the brunette flushed, as Junpei stood curiously, accompanied by the twins after having spread out the mat. Takuya was, as usual, running a little late. 'Besides, it could be for Yutaka.'

'Nope.' The half-Italian grinned as she snatched the letter quickly way. 'Look. It says "Dearest Tomoki".'

Tomoki went even redder. 'Gimme that.'

The blonde surrendered the letter and the brunette hurriedly buried it into his jacket as Takuya came running up.

'What's up?' he asked, looking at the crowd.

Izumi was grinning like a Cheshire cat, while even Junpei looked somewhat amused. The twins simply shared a collective eye-roll; both had their share of fan-girls and neither one of them were a big fan.

'Tomoki's got a secret admirer,' the girl sang. 'Our little brother's growing up.'

'Secret?' Takuya repeated. 'Geez, can't a girl say anything straight.'

The girl glared.

'Not you,' the brunette sighed. 'You're fine.'

'Gee, thanks.'

'Guys,' Junpei cut in wisely before the pair got too out of hand. 'Can we eat already?'

'No way,' Kouji and Takuya answered at the same time.

'Well, what then?'

'Talk?'

'Play soccer.'

'No way…Kouichi, did you know about this?'

Kouichi couldn't help but laugh at his brother again. 'Of course.'

'How you like running after the ball, I have no idea?'

'Me neither,' the other admitted. 'Hence why I play goalie.'

'Oh yeah…wait a sec.'

'Hey Kouji!' Takuya yelled from the makeshaft field. 'Get over here.'

Junpei was standing at the other goal while Kouichi claimed his one.

'But you like soccer.' He groaned, a little playfully like he only would with his brother and friends.

'Sure,' Kouichi replied, pointing to the field. 'Make sure you don't kick into my goal this time.'

'Oh do,' Takuya disagreed. 'Then we'll win again.'

'Yeah right,' Izumi snorted, scuffing her sneakers. 'If you remember correctly, we still beat you.'

'They did Takuya,' Tomoki validated.

'Oh all right.' The brunette sighed, before taking in a deep breath. 'Let's play ball!'

'Hey,' Kouji snapped. 'Shouldn't we take care of our stuff first?'

'Oh yeah.'

* * *

><p>Izumi had, it turned out, been right. She and the twins had managed to win…again, though it had been a rather close match. The scrimmage had however been cut short and redealt when their match had attracted a bit of attention, so Takuya and Tomoki, spotting some of their sport buddies in the crowd, had invited them to join, eventually causing others to jump in to even up the playing field while parents tried to keep track of their children in the now twelve member teams playing across the soccer field.<p>

No-one noticed the extras in the crowd. Why should they? No-one knew everyone after all.

* * *

><p><span>Post Author's Notes<span>

Translations

Suki ni shiro – informal for as you wish/whatever

Ni-san – (dearest) older brother

Moshi moshi – hello when you're talking on the telephone

Otouto-chan – (dearest) little brother


	2. Pay the Higher Pedestrian

Author's Notes

Next chapter things really start heating up.

By the way, think about the title. It means more than is immediately obvious, though the rest will become apparent in the next chapter.

Anyway, enjoy. To be honest, I was a little disappointed by the response this fic received. Maybe because of the slow start…

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

Pay the Higher Pedestrian

The phone had been ringing on and off for the entire weekend. That wasn't necessarily unusual; most were business calls for his father and there was a teammate of Satomi's who had rung to cross-reference something (she was part of a research team in Tokyo's science institute), but what bothered him was the calls littered between had simply ended with no response. It was really grating on his nerves, so it was that when he went downstairs for school on the Monday after and the phone rang _again_, he snatched it off the hook with the soul intention of giving them a piece of his mind, whether that be an innocent bystander or an annoying telemarketer or the infuriating caller that was really getting on his last nerves.

The reply that he got told him initially that it was none of the above.

'Now now,' an unfamiliar voice told him, rather patronisingly. 'Be careful where you direct your emotions. They could wind up hurting the wrong person.'

He didn't recognise the voice, but then, he didn't recognise most of his father's associates and none of his clients. There wasn't anything out of the usual about the voice, but something still seemed…wrong. Perhaps because such annoyances such as anonymous phone calls had a habit of driving him up the wall, or perhaps because he was unnaturally paranoid in any situation outside the ordinary, or perhaps it was just his instinct. He couldn't really tell. Goodness knew how many times that got him into strife though, as Takuya loved to his remind him and even Kouichi pointed out on occasion.

'May I speak with your father?' He inquired innocently.

Kouji, deciding for the time being he was being paranoid, hailed his father and abandoned the phone in favour of his waiting breakfast.

A moment later, Kousei walked into the kitchen with a frown on his face. 'Are you sure there was someone on the phone?'

His son looked up in surprise, but nodded.

'Well, they hung up,' the man grumbled, burying himself into the morning paper again.

Apparently, an annoyance at unnecessary phone calls ran in the family.

He brushed it off by the time he got to school though. It seemed rather irrelevant, even if it was rather annoying. What bothered him though was that every time the phone rang over the next few days, he found himself half expecting them to hang up.

They were all the usual sort of calls.

Until Wednesday afternoon.

'Moshi moshi, Minamoto residence.'

'Ah, I see you are feeling more hospitable now.'

He froze at the somewhat familiar voice, before frowning. 'Who are you?'

There was a deep chuckle on the other line. 'Call me a business associate. A private matter to be sure.'

The frown deepened. 'Business..?' _What the heck is this guy on about_?

'In due time,' the other reprimanded him calmly. 'In the meantime, don't worry unnecessarily.'

There was a click as the receiver was replaced. Kouji just stared at the receiver. Those were the same words his friends and family always told him, but there was something different. Whatever it was, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

* * *

><p>'Takuya!' Kanbara Yuriko shouted out to her eldest son as she held the phone in her hands. 'There's a friend of yours on the phone!'<p>

Takuya, who had been chasing after his little brother and the soccer ball skidded to a halt. 'Coming,' he called back, kicking off his shoes and entering the house a moment later. A quick wipe took care of his soiled hands, and he picked up the receiver before he earned himself a decent scolding from his mother.

''ello?' he said. 'Kouji?'

There was a deep chuckle on the other line. 'You shouldn't so easily automatically assume.'

The brunette blinked. He thought his mother had said _friend_. Surely he should recognise the voice then.

'Do I know you?'

'Indeed,' the other said softly. 'I'll leave you think on that. I'm afraid I have other matters to take care of right now.'

'Wait-'

'Good day.'

The dial-tone suddenly ensured. Takuya stared blankly at the phone, before shrugging and replacing it on the hook.

_That was weird_.

But he didn't put too much stock on it. Till he received another call from the same man three days later.

'Have you figured it out?'

'Of course not,' the brunette replied, sounding exasperated. 'How in the world can I?'

Truth be told, the voice did sound vaguely familiar, but it was impossible. No human could have the same voice as a digimon. Even when they spirit evolved, their voices changed.

'Well,' the stranger chuckled. 'Perhaps you need to think some more. After all, how can we reach an agreement?'

'Agreement?'

'Of a very personal sort. Till next time kid.'

Another click, and the line went dead.

Then it rung again.

'Can you make sense?' he exploded immediately.

'Takuya?' His father's baffled voice replied.

An instant, awkward pause.

'Oh, otou-san. Sorry, I thought you were someone else.'

* * *

><p>'Is something wrong Kouji?' Kouichi's voice asked him, sounding rather concerned.<p>

'Not at all,' the other hurriedly replied, half a mind still on the strange, almost nonsensical phone-calls that he would normally ignore but at the same time felt he couldn't, mainly because the words had changed from teasing advice to little tidbits of information no stranger should now. Knowledge that was rather harmless on its own, but everyone knew how dangerous the right knowledge could be in the wrong hands.

'You sound like something's bothering you.'

Curse his brother's perceptiveness. Especially when he, one, didn't want to unnecessarily worry him, and two, this game of cat and mouse was starting to feel rather…ominous and he didn't want to drag anyone into whatever mess he had gotten himself into.

'Something is,' he answered slowly, remembering something that he could use.

'What?' It was somewhat cute how much his brother worried about him.

'You over-worrying about me.'

There was a pregnant pause, then a burst of laughter from both twins.

'You-You-' Kouichi spluttered through his laughter. 'You tricked me. I thought it was something more important than that baka.'

'Good to see you fell for it Ni-san,' the other teased back, glad the little detour had worked. 'Now did you kick Takuma's-'

Kouichi quickly cut him off. 'Kouji, I'm not starting a war where it isn't needed.'

'But seriously, those guys are jerks.'

'And Hikaru and Keisha deal with that more than well enough.'

'Kouichi. You're letting them walk over you.'

A light laugh. 'Actually, no I'm not.'

There was a sneaky, almost devilish quality in the tone.

'What do you do?'

'There's more than one way to skin a cat otouto-chan,' Kouichi replied teasingly. 'Besides, it's much better embarrassing them than hurting them. And more entertaining.'

'I don't know whether to call you soft or evil.'

'How about neither.'

They talked for a little while, before the call-alert told him he was receiving another call.

'Someone's calling,' Kouji grumbled. 'They're being rather insistent too.'

'Take it then,' his brother said. 'Onami wa.'

'It's not night.'

'No, but it will be before I can talk to you again.'

There wasn't any arguing with that, so Kouji disgruntledly pressed the disconnect button.

'Took you long enough,' a now familiar voice commented. 'And here I was thinking you didn't want any answers.'

'Enough games,' the ex-bearer of light snapped, rather annoyed. 'What is it you want from me?'

'I'll cut to the chase then,' the man replied. 'You remember Lucemon, correct?'

The replying tone darkened. 'Of course I do.' _Your voice sounds like him too_. But he didn't say that out loud. 'What's that to you and how do you know that name?'

The problem had been, being in an almost comatose state, Kouichi really hadn't had any sort of control over what transferred between his mind in the digital world and his body in the other. As such, little bits of information had slipped out, leaving the six, once reunited in the human world to come up with something that threaded it all together. In the end, they wrote it off as a hallucinogenic dream triggered by the blow on the head. Perfectly believable, all things considered, except five children were feigning ignorance until Kouichi explained his "dream".

What was said next however changed the entire playing field.

'I'm the one who created him to test you all. And you passed. Now, I want that power that allowed you to do so, without interference. I'll simply eliminate any I find.'

'And why should I believe you?' Kouji snapped, suddenly extremely concerned.

'That's true,' the other replied. 'After all, we all know your brother's rather eccentric "dream". However, recall, that no matter how much you struggle, you can never win against me.'

'No way,' he shot back, blue eyes widening as he recognised that last phrase that he knew so well. It was same phrase he had used before unleashing the devastating attack that had nearly killed them all.

No-one had ever told the exact words. There was no way that man could know them…unless he really was telling the truth.

'I had a feeling you would say that,' the other said calmly. 'I'll give you till this time tomorrow to reconsider.'

Another click. God, he was really starting to hate that sound.

It was as he replaced the phone into its cradle that his heart suddenly froze.

He had almost snatched the phone off the cradle before he remembered the underlined warning days before.

Gritting his teeth, he let go of the apparatus, feeling the familiar weight of the dead cell phone in his pocket. As an electronic device, it was utterly useless after the digital world, but he still carried it. So did, as far as he knew, the other four. Kouichi never had a cell phone, and his D-scanner was no-where to be found. Wherever it had gone after Lucemon had scanned his data, it had never returned to them.

He couldn't tell the others. Not yet. Not while he knew nothing at all.

Not to mention that "elimination" comment.

He could help but wonder if he was really being over paranoid this time.


	3. Purport to be a Hoax

Author's Notes

I forgot to mention this, but Keisha's not Japanese. She's African American. Her parents just moved to Japan when she was young.

Anyone seen Die Hard 4.0? See the reference anywhere?

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

Purport to be a Hoax

Keisha Sewell grinned in amusement as one of her two male friends groaned in somewhat annoyance, pulling a slip of paper free from his locker door. He wasn't too thrilled since his locker had been stuck that morning, forcing him to track down the janitor and ask him to open it. 'What'd they say this time?'

'Watch your step,' Kouichi replied, staring at the neat typed words. 'This is getting pretty annoying.'

'Now?' Matsuda Hikaru asked, scowling. 'Takuma's really got it in for you, huh?'

'And I have no idea why,' the black haired boy sighed, fishing out the books he needed before shutting it, jiggling the locker to get it closed. He frowned at the lining of glue he could still see. 'Now that glue's got us all late for class.'

Hikaru raised his eyebrows at the dark-skinned girl. 'What do you find so amusing?'

'The fact that they just framed themselves,' Keisha giggled. 'They never used to leave notes with their pranks.'

That stopped both boys. 'You're right,' Kouichi murmured, looking at the note, before reopening his locker and pulling out a stack of similar, flicking through them. 'Let's see.'

'What are you looking for?'

'This.' He separated the stack into two, before comparing one from the lower pile to the one in the other hand. The older ones looked somewhat different.

'So what?' The sandy blonde asked, staring blankly at the two papers, but Keisha noted the difference.

'The paper's thinner.'

'And the ink,' Kouichi agreed, frowning slightly. 'That's odd. I didn't realise before, but these,' he waved the newer pile, 'isn't from the school printer.'

'So what?'

He shrugged. 'Who knows. Maybe they ran out of credit.'

'True.'

Hikaru frowned though. 'You're both forgetting that he would just bully one of the younger kids for theirs. Which means you've got yourself another enemy. Congrats.'

Kouichi sighed. 'How'd that happen? I'm sure I didn't do anything.'

'You didn't to do anything to Takuma either. He just has it in for you.'

'That's true.'

The bell interrupted them.

'Oh crap,' Keisha exclaimed. 'Science.'

All three bolted, Kouichi stuffing the notes into his pocket for the time being. The one on top of the newer pile almost flew out away from the sudden movement before he caught it. _Jump around too much, and you lose your landing pad._

* * *

><p>They sat on the shady grass they claimed as their temporary sanctuary during the lunch break, their bento boxes open in front of them and the notes that had been in Kouichi's pocket spread out. He had actually forgotten about them for the four periods in between, but Hikaru was determined to play detective, so out they came again.<p>

'You know,' he muttered in annoyance. 'It's just the paper. Everything else is the same.'

The other two looked at them as well. One by one.

'No its not,' Kouichi said finally, though he was normally the one to dismiss them.

Keisha raised a black eyebrow at him. 'Meaning?'

'Meaning they're of a slightly different frame of mind.'

'Oh, since when did you become a psychologist?'

The raven haired boy blushed darkly. 'I did nothing of the sort.'

Hikaru smirked at him. 'Then why are you blushing? Unless you _want_ to be one.'

He blushed harder as Keisha giggled. 'Touching the hearts and souls of humankind huh. Relax Kouichi. It's a fine dream. Better than mine.'

He looked up at her.

'A ballet dancer,' she said calmly. 'But there isn't a good school for miles. Perhaps more. I'd have to leave my family, my home and my friends to find a ballet studio in which I can thrive, and I'm getting too old for that.'

Both boys fell silent, before the girl reached out and hit them both over the head. 'Don't you dare get all moody,' she commanded sternly. 'I'll still get my chance to dance yet; I've still got two good legs.'

Hikaru let out an awkward laugh, rubbing his head. 'That's true,' he admitted. 'But we're getting off topic. Different frame of mind as in..?'

He looked at Kouichi, who shrugged. 'To be honest,' he said quietly, looking at the mess. 'I don't know what makes me say that. Something just feels different about them.'

The sandy blonde looked closely at him, but his eyes appeared only vaguely worried, so he averted his own gaze to the papers again. 'It almost seems like a warning.'

'Try a series of warnings,' Keisha snorted. 'Curiosity killed the cat. Don't think you're safe because you've passed the line. Jump around too much and you'll lose your landing pad. Hey, they sound familiar.'

'Not this one,' Hikaru said, pointing at one the other had missed. 'You are a fool to step between the darkness and the fate it brings, even as darkness yourself. I mean, what the heck?'

'I don't remember seeing that before,' Kouichi said quietly, staring at the little slip.

'Oh.' The sandy blonde blushed this time. 'It was stuck on your door. You didn't notice it so I took it out.' He looked to the other, noting the suddenly worried expression. 'What is? Does that mean anything to you?'

Kouichi said nothing, but within himself, he wondered what had brought Lucemon's final curse upon him back to life. Who could know that, except for the five people who had witnessed it, and none of them would do such a thing.

'Hello? Kouichi?'

'Huh, oh, um…it's nothing.'

'You're lying,' Keisha said, frowning at him.

'I'm not really,' the other protested. 'It reminded me of something, but there's no way anyone here could know about that. It was in that weird dream I had, when I fell down the stairs.'

'Oh, the coma dream.' Hikaru nodded. 'Wait a sec, that's true. If you didn't tell anyone the phrase, no-one would know it.'

'Which narrows our list down to zero or a coincidence,' Keisha pointed out. 'Because Kouichi just said he didn't mention it to anyone here.'

'I actually didn't mention it to anyone intentionally,' the topic of interest admitted. 'Whoever heard did so when I was comatose. But it could be a coincidence.'

'True, and that's more likely.' Keisha looked at the pages again. 'The best I can see is someone's warning you not to interfere with something.'

'That or you've overstepped some boundary,' Hikaru added. 'But those ones are pretty regular.'

'You mean we spent the entire lunch time on something that's perfectly ordinary.'

'Speak for yourself. Nobody else finds this normal.'

The bell rang again.

'Damn that bell. Always ringing at the wrong moment.' Hikaru quickly scoffed down the remaining food and bolted.

The other two laughed, glad their classrooms were closer so they didn't have to go as far, thus meaning they could take their time.

'Kouichi,' Keisha halted him as he made to gather the loose scraps up again.

He looked at her, and she frowned at him.

'I know Hikaru didn't ask, and it's probably neither of our business, but what exactly happened when you heard that statement in your dream?'

The blue eyes froze slightly, before looking away in a sort of jerking movement.

'You don't have to tell me if-' Keisha began, thinking she had insulted or hurt her friend.

'It's not that,' Kouichi said quietly. 'It's just that…there was this…um…' He flailed in his mind a moment, wondering how to describe Lucemon. 'An angel, sort of.'

Keisha blinked. 'Aren't angels supposed to be good?'

Kouichi shook his head. 'Not this one. He destroyed an entire world, including two of his own warriors. He turned friend against friend and family against family.' A stray hand clutched the cloth above his heart as he remembered Kouji's power of light purifying the corruption wrapping his own spirits. 'He said that after he killed me.'

'He…killed you?'

'Dream, Keisha.'

She started, then began laughing. 'Whoops, forgot for a second there.'

Thankfully, she didn't ask any more questions. He didn't want to lie, or transform the truth, any more than he had to. They had never told anyone about the truth of the Digital World.

By the time they both got to class, Keisha had come up with at least five different schematics of the fabled Lucemon, each more amusing than the last of which that left him almost breathless with laughter and them both almost late…again. Suffice to say, both had forgotten about the deeper aspects of the notes. To be honest, neither had much stock in them in the first place; they had been a little amused at the 'detective'. Sure, that one had bothered him for a time, but they had bothered him when the so-called 'hate' chain had started too. Now, he worried when he didn't get one. It just seemed so normal.

Something was making him uncomfortable, and he had to wonder wryly if his brother's paranoia was rubbing off on him.

* * *

><p>They walked together after school that day, deciding that since they didn't have too much homework, they'd stop by the new museum exhibit before splitting off for home.<p>

The streets were crowded as usual. Most people they didn't recognise, though there was the occasional bow of greeting to those they did. The world was an inevitably small place after all.

'How many roads do we have to cross?' Keisha complained, following Hikaru. 'Are you sure we're going the right way?'

'I was,' the sandy blonde mumbled, looking at the map he had scrawled directions on. 'But I'm having trouble seeing the street signs in this.'

Kouichi managed to get next to him. 'It's right there,' he said, pointing.

'Cool. Now all we have to do is wait for the lights to turn green.'

Them and a whole lot of other people. One of who was talking on a cell phone and keeping one of them in particular in full view, even though he himself was practically drowned by the crowd of people.

* * *

><p>Kouji snatched the phone up as soon as it rang. He had stayed home that day, seeing as his class was going on a field trip he would much rather not. It also gave him the chance to think, however that hadn't helped at all. He was no closer to figuring out who the mysterious caller was, nor exactly what he wanted. He couldn't even figure out how the guy claimed to have "created" Lucemon; Lucemon was a digimon!<p>

It didn't really matter. If he created Lucemon to test them as he claimed, he probably wanted their help to do worse. Especially seeing as his use of that particular phrase reinforced he was up to no good.

'Made a choice yet?' an amused voice reached his ears, along with the sound of afternoon traffic. He looked at the clock. School would be letting out about then.

'How about you tell me what you want,' Kouji snapped back.

'Kouji?' another voice asked, startled but very familiar.

'Takuya?'

'Do you boys want to miss this?' the mystery caller asked, amused. 'How about you two catch up with all the 'how do you do's' later?'

Silence greeted him.

'Good. You two do know how to behave. What I want is very simple. Power, which I can use to take over the whole world.. And the two of you can help me get it. It is very simple really. The two of you have gone past your fellow Chosen. I just need the two of you to transform into Susanoomon, and I'll take care of the rest.'

If they could have, the ex-warriors of light and fire would have been exchanging glances. A million questions were floating through their heads. How did this guy know about Susanoomon, more importantly they were the first two to evolve into him. Why was it only them? How did he know so much about the digital world?

Of course, none of that mattered seeing as he was trying to take it over.

'No way!' Takuya said immediately. 'Susanoomon will erase the entire world-'

'And regenerate it into something easier to control.'

'No way,' Kouji mirrored, in complete agreement. 'Does the value of human lives mean nothing to you?'

'They'll live' the man said calmly. 'With the data network of the world in my hands, I will control everything. The money, the military, all the power in the world. But should I take that as a no?'

'Hell yeah,' the warrior of fire yelled.

'I thought so.' There was a slight pause, wherein they all listened to the traffic. And then, the man spoke again. 'I'll get what I want in the end. It's just a matter of how much persuasion the two of you will need.'

He sounded so serious that both teenagers froze.

'There are plenty of tools in the world,' the man continued. 'But I'll start with something quick and easy. A certain brother of yours.'

'Shinya?' Takuya yelped, and was answered while Kouji shouted his twin's name at the same time.

'Now why would I go after that little brat when there are more tastier fish in the sea?'

'You'd better not lay a finger-' Kouji hissed threateningly, a sudden panic exploding inside him. _God Kouichi, if you're anywhere near him, get away-_

'Say that the next time you refuse,' the other cut him off calmly. 'Until then, consider this a warning.'

There was a sudden sharp cry that turned into a half-blown scream failing to release itself to its content. It didn't matter how fast it came and went though, accompanied by the unmistakable sounds of something braking; both of them recognised that scream.

The receiver fell from a weak hand, frozen suddenly in time, before pain erupted in his skull. He didn't even hear himself scream in pain, nor Takuya's voice yelling his name nor the accursed dial-tone as he collapsed near the phone, vision wavering in and out as the sharp agony consumed his senses, before the light blinked out completely, throwing him into darkness.


	4. Warning Tone

Author's Notes

First of all, a big thank you to Asarikou-chan and Alyss for reviewing, and for Alyss for reminding me of the cliffhanger I forgot about at the end of the last chapter. Which means I had to fix that before exams.

On another note, if any of the characters, namely Kouji or Takuya, seem OOC, it's because they're freaking. Badly. Anyone would be out of character in that situation, and the worst part is the inbuilt paranoia.

Second last, medical stuff. The only time I've been in the emergency department, it was empty except for the woman at the front desk. Brain injuries from my cousin's neurology books. She wanted to be a brain surgeon. Other stuff from the internet. As for car crash injuries…I sort of imagined the fall and improvised. Locality of bruises are relatively general though.

Last…updates. Exams are coming up, and as you've probably noticed, updates are consequently slowing. My first year at university is drawing to an end. Hopefully next year no-one will mix me up for a sixth/seventh grader. Oh, who am I kidding…

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

Warning Tone

The echo of twin screams resonated in his ears, even as silence came through the receiver. The dial tone had faded into a second scream, as akin to the first as one could dread, but even that had now faded into silence. Not even the sound of breathing came through the connection, save the echoing of his own voice shouting at his friend. But they fell to deaf ears, and the dreaded quietness echoed back to him.

Defeated, he hung up the phone. There was no use yelling when there was no answer. There was no telling exactly what that first scream meant. They could be wrong. It could have been a bluff. There was a bit of static, so it even may have been pre-recorded. Who knew, maybe the guy, whoever he was, had used one of those softwares to alter the voice and scare them both out of their wits?

Why Kouji had screamed like that however was a different story. The dial-tone indicated that the other had hung up by then, and while the pair did still occasionally get into tussles, neither one would make their friend worry as much as he was worrying now. And now he wasn't answering...Kouji always had a way of showing his aggravation even when he was determinedly ignoring the other. Normally by the usual "I'm pretending you're invisible" routine, which did make him rather annoyed in turn, and then the cycle continued.

The entire situation was making him a little paranoid. He could try and convince himself nothing had happened. Hell, a few weeks ago he would have thought this to be a rather elaborate prank, but whoever was behind the entire situation had taken enough care to grate their nerves. Enough for there to be very little hope of an elaborate prank...if one takes out the knowledge that no adult should know out of the equation. What was worse, was if something had really happened to Kouichi, one of their six membered team, Kouji's brother and their mutual friend, it would mean that their mysterious caller would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. And they _couldn't_ give it to him. Not to mention they couldn't tell anyone. Besides, who, beside the other legendary warriors, would believe them? And if someone had been hurt just by being _related_...

The noise of someone throwing something heavy near the glass distracted him.

'Whoops,' Shinya's voice sounded from outside. 'Gomen Ni-san, but I didn't break anything.'

_Shinya..._

It hit him suddenly just how much danger everyone was in. He would be okay. Kouji would be okay. Their mysterious caller needed them. But their family and friends were in danger, if that latest call was anything to go by. Their parents would probably be okay; they're adults, anything would cause an uproar. But the younger people, like Shinya-

Not to mention, what the hell was wrong with Kouji?

Shinya was playing with the soccer ball by himself outside.

'Shinya!' He yelled loudly, causing the boy to jump, a little guiltily. 'I didn't break anything,' he protested.

Takuya ignored him, grabbing his brother's coat and the keys, before quickly locking up. Shinya made it over by the time the last lock clicked into place, to be awarded with the jacket in his face.

'Wha..?'

'Come on,' the other snapped, catching his hand and dragging him down the road. Startled by the sudden movement, Shinya stumbled a bit before catching up, utterly bewildered at his brother's behaviour. At least he wasn't in trouble, as the window's glass was a little bit cracked, but someone would only notice if they looked extremely closely.

'Where are we going?' Shinya asked, looking at his brother's tensed face as he scanned the traffic, passing through them a little more quickly than was strictly safe. He seemed in a hurry to the younger Kanbara to get somewhere, but that didn't explain why he was being dragged along. 'And why am I being dragged along?'

'Kouji's,' came the one word answer, which completely shot over the second question. But the other didn't have the time to ask again, because the double storey house loomed into view.

Takuya slammed a finger onto the doorbell, other hand still tightly gripping his brother's. To the other's credit, he hadn't immediately tried to price his hand out claiming he was old enough to walk without such a chaperone...however the pace may have made him grateful for the association. Besides, it was normally Takuya who didn't like holding his brother's hand, so the fact that he was willingly doing so was both welcome (if even a little late, because everyone, no matter what the age, took comfort in little things like that) and worrying.

Even more annoying was the growing agitation when no-one answered the door, save a bark from behind the fence.

'Kouji,' the older brunette muttered under his breath. 'You had better have a very good reason for this.' It may have sounded annoyed to the outside observer, but Shinya knew his brother well enough that it was worry that clouded the tone.

'Maybe he's not home,' Shinya suggested, after they stood, and the elder knocked, with no result for about five minutes. Takuya had even tried the doorknob.

'He's home,' the other responded, tuning away from the door and trying to see through the closed windows. He considered climbing over the gate, but it was rather difficult to do that without letting go of someone, so he left that as a last resort. Worst case scenario, the back door would be similarly locked.

'You could try a window,' the younger Kanbara mumbled, faintly annoyed now. He was still waiting for a legible explanation, but his brother didn't seem to be in the mood to entertain him. Which was an oddity in itself; Takuya and quiet simply did not go together, unless you counted his birthday three years ago when one of the other's friends had died and resuscitated in the space of about twenty minutes. But that was a special case. That was the only time he had seen his brother in tears too.

Takuya looked at his little brother at the suggestion, then ruffled the hair somewhat distractedly. 'I hadn't thought of that,' he said quietly, going to the nearest ground floor one. However, circling the perimeter, he found them all locked too. And the curtains were drawn too tightly to see anything inside.

He could hear the phone ringing now, but no-one was answering. The car wasn't in the driveway; apparently his parents weren't home. He knew Kouji had to be though; he couldn't have disappeared that fast.

'That's it!' he exploded suddenly, unable to stand the waiting. 'I'm breaking this stupid glass!'

Seeing as replacing window panes was rather costly, especially with a teenager's allowance, that should have brought Kouji running. The fact that it didn't sucked out practically the last remnants of doubt in his mind. All he needed now was to see his ailing friend; perhaps he had fainted from shock by the phone. But something told him it was more. It might as well have been. The twins had a bond he would never understand.

It took him a few tries to break the glass, all the while Shinya stood gaping at him. Once it did, it broke completely, falling into three long jagged pieces with crumbled glass all around. Luckily, the break was rather neat, all things considered, so he could slip in easily enough without getting cut, ordering Shinya to do the same.

Shinya would have asked to be released at that point. Actually, he would have asked earlier, but this new Takuya was scaring him. He seemed extra paranoid for some reason, and he had a feeling the other wouldn't be placated until he was proven either right or wrong.

It was the former, as he easily spotted the sprawled form beside the phone, which was figuratively ringing off the hook.

He ignored the phone himself, intent of shaking his friend awake. There was a grimace of pain seemingly permanently etched onto his face, even though the rest of it had somewhat relaxed.

Shinya looked between him and the phone, which was still ringing insistently. Seeing his brother's friend begin to stir, and his hand released as the said brother had need of both his own, he picked up.

'Moshi moshi, Minamoto residence,' he said after a brief pause, correctly remembering the other's surname. He then listened intently, stating the reason for his and his brother's presence, then making a few noises of agreement.

Takuya meanwhile was still shaking Kouji, whose face twisted into an all-out grimace as light began to seep through his closed eyelids. He groaned out loud, both in pain and reluctance to the light, but forced them open when the constant rocking caused his head to spin and bile to rise up in his throat.

'Stop it 'kuya,' he slurred, words barely understandable but tone immaculate.

Takuya stopped immediately. 'You okay?' he asked worriedly, helping the other up. The ex-warrior of light tried to feebly push him away; it was a bit of an embarrassing situation, but that wasn't the reason.

'Kouichi!' Kouji gasped. 'Something happened! What?-'

He looked almost desperately at the other, as though looking for something to prove him false, but Takuya had nothing like that. Even worse, that was proof that it hadn't been a bluff at all, that whoever was calling on Susanoomon would go any lengths to get what he wanted. It was a beautifully wrought plan on sadism and hunger for that power. There were plenty of pieces, and they were young, too young. Perhaps the experiences in the Digital World had helped them grow. They had lost their childhood innocence, killing and witnessing others be killed; whether they had been digimon or humans really didn't matter. The worst of all of them had been the two of blood pitted against each other, the ultimum of light and darkness clashing, destroying, and remaking each other. Looking back, they realised just how lucky they had been. They had met in a battle to the death too much. At the end, one had died; Kouichi's selfless sacrifice to save the world and the people he loved giving the powers of darkness to his brother and uniting the two forces. The final clash between them, where they eventually yielded to grief, desire and will and created the power that had been that salvation.

And now it could be their destruction. Kouichi had pulled through, with some help from Ofanimon as they had all witnessed the glowing symbol on his forehead before his miraculous revival, both to them and the befuddled Doctors around them. Luckily, no-one else had seen the symbol, though perhaps they wouldn't have questioned the rescuing of one more life.

Takuya just shook his head, before suddenly remembering his own brother. 'Shinya!' he yelped.

'I'm here,' his little brother's voice said from behind him, stepping around the pair, no guilt this time causing him to jump out of his skin. Certainly he hadn't done anything wrong by answering the phone?

'He called him a little brat,' Kouji reminded, seeming more awake and aware now as he pulled himself off the ground. 'There are bigger fish he can go after.'

The haunted look in his eyes was the only betrayal to how much it cost to say that.

'Who was on the phone?'

'Minamoto-san,' the young Kanbara replied, having met the entire assortment of friends and family several times since they met three years prior, and the teenagers even more so. 'He wants you to meet him at the hospital.'

He was talking to Kouji as he said it, but blue and brown exchanged glances.

'We're coming,' Takuya said before the other could open his mouth again.

'Taku-' Kouji began.

'No Kouji. We're coming.'

It was hopeless to argue, and his head was still killing him.

'Fine,' he groaned. 'Go get the aspirin then.'

Takuya knew his friend well enough to know that telling Shinya to go wouldn't cut it. He didn't drag his brother up the flight of stairs though, only because the sharp wolf's eye, even when dulled with pain and premonition, were locked in on him.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he felt like his brain had only managed to grasp a part of the entire situation. It seemed odd, funny even (except no-one was laughing of course), that he had dragged Shinya all the way here on a whimsical fear, and the other had allowed himself to be dragged. It seemed odd, _bad_ even, that he was more worried about the twin downstairs than the one God knew where. But the twins were different, and he knew them both quite well. He couldn't imagine how someone would be able to make their way under Kouichi's skin, unless it was a repeat of the whole Duskmon incident. And he was sure nothing remotely like that had happened lately. That guy was a little too easy going it seemed sometimes; he'd smile off any insult…unless you insulted his family and friends, and in that case some randomly divine force would interfere before he could anyway. Normally pure luck or someone acting on his behalf. Or him doing something sneaky as opposed to upfront.

But then again, this wasn't a matter of skin at all, was it? It was their skin surely, but if they could put any stock to the other's words, it was only them. Him and Kouji, the two who had originally become Susanoomon. He didn't seem to think too much about any of the other Legendary Warriors. Hell, he didn't think much about the rest of the _world_.

It still seemed unbelievable. It's a job catching a hold of the intangible darkness after all. Cherubimon couldn't manage it. Lucemon couldn't manage. Heck, even the warrior of darkness himself couldn't manage it.

He had completely lost himself. His heart was still hammering insistently in his chest, and for the first time, he noted the light-headedness that accompanied the short and all too quick breaths.

He forced himself to calm down. It would do no good to hyperventilate. Then it suddenly hit him. The only reason he would collapse in pain like that was if something had happened to Kouichi that he couldn't handle. It wasn't like they were Siamese twins; that might be a blessing in disguise with how things were spiralling out of control.

It didn't even occur to him to think about the cause. It was the effect his mind was still grappling with.

And he didn't even want to know what was going through Kouji's head. Hopefully, it would stay nice and numb for awhile, until he had his own screwed on straight.

'How are we going to get to the hospital?'

Leave it to the kid of the bunch to be the voice of reason.

'We could ask 'kaa-san?' he suggested, when no-one answered, save the barking from outside.

* * *

><p>For some reason, the fact that they were called to a hospital didn't really click in Takuya's mind until they found the Minamoto couple and Kimura Tomoko in the lobby of the emergency department. Someone in a white coat, blue gloves and a blue mask, a Doctor or Surgeon presumably, was talking to them.<p>

Satomi was the first to spot Kouji, and she immediately alerted the others, who suddenly stopped talking…or listening. The Doctor looked towards the teenagers and the child, then frowned.

'Are all these your children?' he asked, as only Kouji came closer. The Kanbara brothers hung back; it didn't feel right to be there, surrounded by all that panic and apprehension and blood. That was where only the closest in blood ever tread, and besides, they were about to be kicked out in a minute anyway.

Yep, as soon as Kousei shook his head. Tomoko did too, but it was harder to tell because of the loose hair falling around her face and her intertwined fingers covering it.

And it hit him after they were in the main lobby again, that given the time passed, why were they _still_ in the emergency room?

The rest of his brain caught up at that moment.

'Takuya?' Shinya was poking him. When he was smaller, he'd just pull at the sleeve, but the height difference didn't seem so massive any more.

Takuya didn't hear him. In the distance, he could hear sirens. Through the door, he could see a victim covered in blood and being carried away on a stretcher. Any one of those could be someone he knew. Any one of those could be his fault. He realised at that moment he finally understood truly how hard it had been for Kouji to fight against Velgemon at that last leg, how hard it had been to drive the other to the brink of death to free him. But he had been a child then. The decision had still lain in his hands; do the right thing, or take a life?

Once again, that choice had been thrust into their hands, and once again, someone else would be taking the brunt.

His head was moaning. His heart was screaming.

'Takuya?' That was his mother.

He accepted the embrace, letting go of the steel of an adult to sob like a child. It wasn't _right_. It wasn't even _fair_. They had no right, _no_ right at all…

But what else could they do? One life…for the life of the world?

But at the same time, he wondered if they could make a decision like that again, after the sledgehammer blow dealt to them? Because there, behind those doors, was the final proof that surpassed all proof. It didn't matter whether it was caused, or accidental.

A piece had already been knocked out of the game.

* * *

><p>Kouji looked between his birthparents and his stepmother; in essence, they were all his parents, and sometimes, it was very difficult to distinguish from them. Unlike the turmoil raging in Takuya's brain, his was oddly numb and disjointed. His head still hurt, as if someone had slammed into it with considerable force, and he knew, without a doubt, that something had happened to his brother again. Just like when he had fallen down the stairs at the station, that sudden jolt of pain. But this was more intense. More lasting.<p>

He forced himself to focus on the surgeon's words once the other, turned out he was a nurse, had led them from the crowd and outside a door and he had finally graced them with their presence.. The window was drawn with curtains, but they all knew what, or rather who, was inside.

'…basilar skull fracture,' he explained, showing an X-ray of a human skull, with a visible crack which he was circling with the closed tip of his pen. 'This here is the temporal lobe, responsible for auditory sensation and memory, and this crack…' He traced his pen down the line. '…is rather worrisome, more so the damage underneath.'

There was a sharp intake of breath as the Doctor exchanged glances with the three adults, before continuing.

'It's hard to tell at this stage,' he said, warding his words carefully. 'We'll need him to be awake before we can run a full analysis of the damage. The fact that the skull cracked is actually a good sign as much as it is a bad; it means at least there is no pressure build-up in the cranial region, which can go undetected and is a major cause of death in brain injuries. That is not, of course, the only injury, but it is certainly the most severe.'

'What else?' Tomoko asked faintly. 'He'll recover? Won't he?'

The surgeon frowned behind his mask. 'It's hard to tell Kimura-san,' he replied. 'Brain damage can at times be rather unpredictable. Physical damage can heal, but as much as we try, sometimes we can do nothing to save a person's life, or their spirit. But rest assured, we are doing what we can.'

He paused for a minute, before returning to the first question, shuffling through the X-rays. 'The force was focused mostly on the upper left part of his body. Ulna fracture, some bruising up the left arm and side. An abrasion on the lower part as well; it seems he reflexively tried to block the fall with his arm.'

He frowned suddenly. 'I've spoken with the police officer. It seems eyewitnesses are disagreeing as to whether he fell or was pushed. No-one saw someone do the latter, but it is possible to somewhat discern one from the other. But either way, neither Kimura-kun nor the driver of the car had much time to react.'

He took a deep breath in the silence, before concluding. 'We've stabilised him for now, but I'm afraid we can't allow any visitors till tomorrow at the earliest.'

'For now?' Kousei repeated, a little hoarsely.

The surgeon nodded, but said nothing else. But they all knew what had been left unsaid.

The grip on Kouji's shoulders tightened, but it still felt somewhat distant. The surgeon looked at him carefully, but his face remained impassive under the scrutiny.

The surgeon left them. In a couple of minutes, the nurse returned with a cup, which he forced into the teenager's hands.


	5. Too Hard to Take

Author's Notes

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

Too Hard to Take

He would look peaceful enough, if it hadn't been for the thick bandage around his head, the cast binding his arm, and the needles and wires connecting the body beneath them to various machines and drips. He hadn't even twitched during the week he had lain in that hospital bed, and the rails being lifted was purely precautionary. Only that day did they allow visitors save close family, once they were sure his condition had stabilised enough to be removed from ICU and into a regular hospital room. The needles fed him a constant dose of sodium thiopental, not enough to induce euthanasia but enough to keep him in a medical coma and far from awakening. Another one was an IV, feeding nutrients and sustenance into the frail body. A third periodically took samples of blood to guard against an overdose.

A tube canal was wrapped around his head, aiding his breathing. It wasn't so bad now; it would be removed in a few days, the Doctor claimed. Their problem was still the impact of the brain damage, but they could not assess the full extent till he awoke and they could not lift the coma till the pain subsided. The drugs may have been making little difference after all in terms of consciousness though; the shock his brain had gone through was enough to persist unconscious. It was just a shame that pain filtered through even in such a state.

Kouji held one hand gently, and in fear. The doctors claimed he was out of danger for the time being, and they should know better than him, but that didn't stop the fear. Perhaps because he, unlike other onlookers, knew it couldn't possibly have been the accident it had been dismissed for. He couldn't blame the driver though; she had no time of her own to react and when she had, she had attained a minor whiplash. Any guilty party would have driven off, but she had pulled over and stayed, crying about how unexpected it had all been. And everyone had seen him slip off the sidewalk but no-one had been able to explain how. They'd attributed it to a freak accident, a poor timing of clumsiness, but he knew that couldn't be the truth even if his fall down the stairs years ago served only to provide further proof.

It was simply too much of a coincidence. How could their mystery caller have _known_ something was going to happen at that exact time in that exact place? The answer: he couldn't possibly have, unless he had set up the situation to be like that. Most likely he had pushed the other himself, but the police weren't that thorough when they could write it off as an accident. Besides, all they had in ways of proof were those phone-calls, and the phone had been eerily silent since that week. An almost taunting silence, as if asking him to reconsider.

But it anything, it had strengthened his resolve. His brother could still live or die, but the line he had crossed in letting him be hurt like this was, to him, unforgivable. It didn't matter if Kouichi forgave him…which he probably would, being the type of person he was, shaped from past experience. He wouldn't see it as his fault. But there was nothing in the world that could be done that was worse than taking his brother away from him. Nothing worse than making it his fault.

Even if his brother did wake up, he wouldn't be perfectly fine. The brain damage was definite, and that was one of the worst types of injuries someone could attract. Because brain cells never healed or replaced themselves. Once the damage was done it was done forever.

He bowed his head over the clasped hands, letting the small, suppressed drops of tears fall. It didn't matter. No-one was watching anyway.

His body trembled slightly as he tightened the grip about himself. It would be the second time, but different…so different…

'Never…' he whispered to himself. 'Never…I could never…not after this…'

He almost wished his heart would turn to stone, but he knew even if he didn't, he would never feel such gut-wrenching pain as this. Even if that tone flat-lined.

Because then the tale of suffering would be complete.

* * *

><p>It had been planned to perfection.<p>

The man, hidden still by the shadows, smirked. 'You'll change your mind soon enough.' He eyed the boy struggling in a dark sea with his brother floating away. 'Maybe I was wrong; that boy can be useful alive after all.'

All it would take now was a little prick. Or to be more precise, a little tweaking of figures and dosages. It was so easy to accomplish too. Switching bags around, opening the tap just a little bit wider…the possibilities when situated in a hospital were endless if only one got past the security.

'Hmm…I wonder about the other one.'

* * *

><p>Takuya lay in bed, even though his mother had passed on the message from Kouichi and Kouji's father that the elder twin could now receive visitors outside immediate family. He couldn't bring himself to get up though. He couldn't bring himself to look at the pale and broken form lying there with no fault of his own.<p>

A fist struck the wall in desperate anger. It wasn't fair! He and Kouji were the ones the other guy wanted. Why did he have to drag someone who had never even seen Susanoomon into the mess?

What was worse, it was a blow the force of a sledgehammer telling them that he was perfectly serious. He was practically forcing them to reconsider, knowing a blow that hard would weaken the foundation of their belief and faith.

It was true, rationally speaking, that the fate of the world was more important than the life of a single human that existed in it. But it was Kouichi who had been the key to Susanoomon's existence, his sacrifice that had unlocked the powerful emotions that had enabled the spirits of light and darkness to fuse into the mightiest digimon that had ever existed. It was the faith that lived on even after his spirit had vanished into, as far as they had known at the time, death, that had enabled them to take their shared sword together and slice through the defaced angel that had tried to abolish both the digital world and their own for what he called the ultimate utopia.

Apart from that, he didn't think he could stand the fact that someone was unintentionally paying for another's decision. And who knew who else would get caught in the crossfire: Izumi, Junpei, Tomoki…any one of them could be next, and whoever their mysterious 'wants to take over the world' guy. There had to be easier ways then going after harmless teenagers.

It just didn't make any sense at all anyway. How could someone create digimon? How could he have possibly known what happened would have occurred, unless he had created the ten warriors as well and much else besides. What sort of mess were they tangled up with…and everything had been so _good_ after the Digital World too.

With all but one blow, he had literally crippled them all.

_Damn it_, he cursed, striking the wall again. He just couldn't think anymore.

The phone ran downstairs and he froze, before letting out the tiniest sigh when his mother began chatting with the caller.

Waiting was the worst thing. He'd never been so scared before. He knew he really should tell the others; at least they'd be on guard if nothing else, and they'd want to know about Kouichi if nothing else. They were all friends, but he just couldn't bring himself to talk to them. It was almost like an irrational part of him was saying that if he distanced himself from them, they'd be safe.

He snorted. That would be about four years too late. No doubt they were worried too.

But could he put their lives at risk, without even asking them? It was like throwing someone into the ocean before they had the chance to learn how to swim.

But the fate of the world against the lives of his friends? Could he really make that decision?

If push came to shove, he would probably cave in before his friends got hurt. He had a feeling Kouji wouldn't see it like that. For him, the worst blow had already been dealt. Nothing could overcome that, unless…he actually did die. Or perhaps not. It all depended.

Aargh, it was so confusing. He didn't know what way to turn.

The scream echoed in his ears again, and a scream of his own escaped as his mother burst into the room, enveloping him into a hug.

She knew it was hard on him, but her knowledge barely scratched the surface of the truth.

He didn't think he could stand by and hear a scream like that again without crumbling.

* * *

><p>Junpei scowled as no-one picked up the phone again. Tomoki, Takuya, Kouji and Kouichi; not one of them were answering their phones. Izumi had picked up her cell, but she sounded like she was in a bit of a hurry.<p>

His computer screen glared at him too. An internet chat page was open, but there had been no new messages to him all day. He didn't know why he bothered to come back to it, though he had to admit it was a tad addictive. Someone from school had started him out and then the whole consequence had stuck. He noted quickly though that it didn't make up for personal company, but everyone was getting so busy that they hardly saw each other anymore. In fact, they hadn't collected at all after the large soccer match. He'd talked to Izumi a couple of times after that and Tomoki once though he was a little strung up over his love-notes. Well, one couldn't blame him; he was getting to the age where his hormones were waking up. He'd never had to deal with that sort of thing before…but he, Junpei that was, wasn't much of a help.

As for the twins and Takuya, he hadn't heard a word from them. The twins hardly ever called him so that wasn't exactly new, but Kouji was normally home to pick up his phone even when Kouichi wasn't always. And even if the younger twin wasn't home, his cell should have been on. He wasn't like Takuya who always forgot it somewhere, or Kouichi who lacked that particular convenience. He knew it wasn't the older twin's fault, but he could try harder to keep in contact. He didn't have an email either; claimed he was computer illiterate. He tried to visit once a month or so, which he normally managed to do…but not the last visit where he should have. And it was odd; Kouichi was normally very reliable, but he hadn't been able to reach either twin to question that.

Sheesh, if they were going to change their plans, it would be nice to say so. He knew Izumi at least had a reason for bailing out, or rather one she had told him about, but no-one else had. He hadn't left the house for a couple days, and he'd even tried ringing them all.

It was the times when everyone vanished from the place of the earth that he felt rather inadequate. Sometimes he felt as if they would be falling apart, but occasionally he would wonder if it was just the old fear of being alone that spurned that emotion.

He picked the phone up again and dialled a familiar number. The phone rang. And rang. And rang.

He scowled as he slammed the phone down again. It was almost as if fate was denying him his friends, after handing them to him.

Why was it that he was suddenly feeling so inferior all of a sudden? So…disconnected?

* * *

><p>A small chuckle escaped him. 'And suddenly they start dropping like flies,' he commented to himself, watching the oldest teen angrily slam the phone into its cradle. Everything was going along smoothly, but he somewhat wished the two he wanted weren't so stubborn. Though he supposed he couldn't really blame them; they were deluded young heroes trying to save a world they couldn't possibly save.<p>

Children like them knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about politics. But they had experienced a war. They should know that the experiences they had attained would not come without cost. Had they honestly thought that only they knew about this other world? That would be impossible, because the world of data was a huge place. Fluctuations occurred all the time; they were not the first people to see that world nor would they be the last to use it. And someone created the network. Someone started the other world with packets of data and virtuality though sometimes additional prompts were required to further those programmes. Emotion mostly, raising them beyond the scope of simple virtual programmes. That was not the only Digital World that existed, but perhaps those children forgot the one that had appeared in the sky some years before.

It had taken this long for him to plot his course, taking all the information he'd been able to gather into consideration and deciding what was easiest, most vulnerable. This particular group of children had the advantage of having their parents completely ignorant of their little adventure, making them much more vulnerable. Furthermore, there were less people he had to consider into his scheming; the less people involved, the better. Also, since they lived in three different areas, there was an additional vulnerability, unlike the clustered group, some of which were in the same apartment. The pair he reached in the end, the two that held Susanoomon's data between them, were quite near each other, but their vulnerabilities: their friends, their family, were easy enough to exploit. Of course, the younger Kanbara sibling he knew would be problematic especially after the other's brother, but there were more cards he could play, and cards that were already in place.

After all, Digimon weren't the only things that came from the internet. And internet chat rooms could be quite…sublimely dangerous.

Maybe he should see if they needed any more prompting. He wasn't the most patient person in the world.

He picked up the phone, dialling a number.

* * *

><p>Takuya heard the phone ring again but he made no move to pick it up. His mother answered it, and minutes later she was knocking on the door of his room.<p>

'It's for you sweetie,' she said, handing him the cordless.

Takuya held his breath a moment before taking it. It actually hadn't been who he had expected, but once the decisive dial tone echoed in his ears a few minutes after the flat words preceding shouts and tears, he felt it was almost just as bad.

They had frequently disagreed on things. But never had their indecision been as bad as this. He almost wished they had agreed on something just so there'd be an agreement; it was enough to make him want to give in to the other.

But ultimately they were to different. The light that could shine so bright it restrained itself from shining any brighter, and the fire burned fierce and destroyed everything in its path.

The phone rang again and he answered it automatically. A part of him thought it might be Kouji, but he was wrong.

* * *

><p>The receiver went down with another smirk. Things were working perfectly…well, mostly. It would be better if the twin would cave as well, but it was to be expected. There was a reason he went for the elder twin first, after carefully weighing up costs and benefits. Twins had a habit of pulling annoying stunts. And in the current situation he still had some leverage.<p>

However, the ice wouldn't take too long to melt. Just a little tweaking…and some hands on fun.

After all, just as the digital worlds had been born from this earth, the earth itself had been born from another world. And just as Chosen fiddled around with the worlds that weren't there own, beings like him came to seek things here.

Even if they seemed so obscure. He doubted they'd ever figure it out. There was a reason they called him a demon after all. Even if the turn wasn't technically accurate.

He stood up, abandoning his work station before stepping out into the real world. It was time to pay someone a visit.

As an almost afterthought, he turned back to the monitors homed in on the six chosen children, coal eyes searching for one in particular. He grinned a little as he noticed the little boy slumped over, clutching a red rose.

The roses from his garden bore quite a scent, didn't they? The poor boy hadn't even realised the numbing of his senses. It would wear off eventually…after all had been said and done and he realised his full uselessness. Simple pawns in an experiment.

Humans really were all too predictable. People though, _the_ People, were another matter. After all, a creator had to be superior to a creation…right?

* * *

><p>Izumi raced through the crowd. Oh why did her mother pick that day of all to spontaneously invite old friends over…especially with a dire need of ingredients to cook up a spread. She had quickly dispatched her daughter for the ingredients, but the cashout line had been so long, and now, laden with two shopping bags filled to the brim, she tried a little hopelessly to catch the train she knew only a miracle will let her catch.<p>

She gave a bit of a gasp and a stumble as something caught, staggering into the frame of a man about thirty or so before an automatic apology burst from her lips.

'That's okay,' the man said kindly, and the blonde was suddenly on edge from the voce.

Green eyes widened slightly as she stared at the blonde man. _It can't be_…

'Do I remind you of someone?' he asked, a little amused.

She took a step back. 'Oh yes.' She didn't reply though. 'I apologize for running into you. I was in a hurry.'

'Understandably,' the other replied, picking up the contents of the bag she had dropped. 'Aren't we all in a way? Here.'

She took the container, but the other brushed against her hand. In an instant, she pulled herself away, giving the man a suspicious look. She tried to in any case, but she found her vision suddenly swimming, as the man, feigning concern, reached for her again.

Her every instinct told her that man was not what he seemed. That he was dangerous.

She dropped both bags, hitting out and feeling her fist connect with something. She didn't pause to see what before stumbling away, but she couldn't go too far or too fast as she found her body was slowly defying her will. She screamed out; there was so many people, someone would help! But the other man said something, and then he was supporting her through the mass of people.

She tried struggling again, but her limbs would no longer obey her.

'Don't worry dear. You'll just be helping me in a _little_ thing.'

'No…' she tried to protest, but her voice came out as a tiny squeak, and even that was flittering away into nothing. It was some sort of drug; it had to be. But how had he been so fast…

Her eyes slipped closed.

Hours later, witnesses would not remember seeing what happened to the owner of the groceries spilt on the ground. One thing they did agree on though was that they hadn't seen anyone with her. Presumably she had gotten lost in the crowd, dropping her bags in the horde and somehow vanishing, though one couldn't understand why, how or where.

* * *

><p>The phone rang in the hospital room. Kouji blinked; he hadn't even realised the phone was there, but at the same time he couldn't understand how someone had gotten the number. He assumed after a couple of rings that it was for the patient who had occupied the room before; the place was rather crowded after all. So he picked up the phone.<p>

'Shame about your brother.'

The boy froze, before spitting back: 'If you think I'll ever-'

'I suppose you don't care too much about your friends and family…' The voice trailed off again. 'I guess they made a mistake loving you, now that they're suffering because of you.'

* * *

><p><em>Or will suffer<em>. Only humans were fool enough to take the blame on their own shoulders.

He replaced the phone, watching the still form on the monitor.


	6. Network of Bonds

Author's Notes

This chapter is the main reason for the rating, or rather the beginning of it. Don't ask where the idea came from, couldn't tell you. It was well before I read Angel Sanctuary, and I must say, the mental image was disgusting…so I'm semi-bypassing that.

The whole People concept is pretty confusing and ambiguous, but it's more an object than a subject so I feel somewhat justified with the level of explanation. The point is not really that but its consequences, aka. the subject. You'll notice this fic didn't focus a lot on the action but rather the reactions, which was the basic point. I felt there is/was enough action supplemented…but poor Tomoki didn't get much screen time at all, did he? And Junpei only got one extra scene…

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

Network of Bonds

Of course, the current situation had dragged him out of his safe haven and made him more traceable, not that it overly mattered of course. What he did have was another opportunity to break down the barriers and spread the cards on the table. Women would always be pain.

The said woman, or perhaps girl, she was still a teen after all, was glaring at him mutely. She sort of had to be mute, seeing as a piece of tape had been wound tightly around her head, securing her mouth shut over the small piece of wood inserted beneath her teeth. Regular wood; no point confusing the police when they come for him. And no doubt sooner or later they would, now that they were more in the open. In the real world anyway.

'Dear, it's entirely your own fault for being caught.'

She glared harder.

'Of course, you should probably blame your friends as well. Kanbara Takuya and Minamoto Kouji for their stubbornness?'

The glare now read "what the hell are you talking about"?

'Or perhaps another, Shibayama Junpei. He isn't trying especially hard anymore to be in touch. See?'

He pointed a remote at the monitor, which switched on to show the eldest of their six member group.

To be honest, there wasn't all that much to look at.

'Shame he's not watching the news.'

_He's not psychic._

But she could hear the news headlines.

_What does he want?_

To that, she had no idea.

'As for you, you're going to help me with two things. Leverage, and an insurance policy.'

Hmmph, the next action would get a reaction. And it did as green eyes widened and the girl thrashed against her bonds, shrieking something.

He lowered the black talons that had extended, letting it morph back into a human hand. Then he pulled the covers back on something, and she stopped short, panic stopping into confusion.

'Nice little vermin, aren't they?'

Bewilderment, and two pairs of eyes stared at the rats in their cage.

'This warehouse had a little problem with them.'

Abandoned then. But while most people were either scared or disgusted by them, she wasn't really either. Came with the territory of having a friend not quite as fortunate as others in the way of money and thus living in a place where rats did appear about once in a blue moon. Actually, not that rarely; it had been a rather nasty surprise when one had trotted in on their first visit, but they began to get used to it. There was a rather cute one there too, almost like a mouse, so after three years she didn't do either.

Perhaps he had been betting on a phobia.

Then the claws extended again.

A muffled question…and shriek.

'Who am I?' he guessed correctly. 'Along with a mix of some variation of the word "stop"?' A pause. 'A being to whom a world is just a means to an end. The _Digital _World.'

The green eyes widened again, and the struggling started up again.

'And to think this could have all been avoided if they'd offered me what I want. But you know as well as I do that it never would have happened.'

Another muffle.

'What I want? Power, what else? Susanoomon, the epitome of digital existence, harnessing both human energy and the energy that was originally fed into the plane of reality that became the Digital World. It's not something you, being a part of that energy, can understand, but every world is a creation, a spawn of another more powerful world who will always seek them for their own agenda, making them the power, the authority, the might…But it's not as simple as that, because we're greedy little things who have to make sure no-one else can do the same thing, if you catch my drift. One last protocol,' he gestured at the translucent screen behind which was a computer uploading something. 'To make sure Susanoomon will never come forth again. Maybe one day another Digital World will be born, but I assure you it will be nothing like the one you and your friends saved.'

A pause. Then he continued. 'Truth be told, I _did_ need you. I did need all your friends, including the two who have drowned into other things; letters, with the scent of the delusionary rose which will eventually fade into guilt and grievance and most importantly, a distance so paramount the two sets of hands cannot reach in such pain. I'd like to see you all back peddle from this; perhaps I will be watching, because it's nice to see the fruits of one's labour. There are more than one way to break people, and the easiest and hardest sometimes is throwing a force of hundreds of Newtons into a body that can give it back in the laws of physics. But once you've broken a few bricks, the rest crumble on their own. Tell your so-called friends that.'

He loomed above her, shadows clouding her sight of him.

'I'd call it stupidity, but then I don't feel like you.'

The shriek was piercing, even through the gag, when the claws slit the skin of her stomach and drew blood.

'A woman's weakness…the things she carries inside of her…'

She'd read Angel Sanctuary. She remembered well the insanity of Sara Mudou when she had carried within her an abomination that did not belong to her. But there was no way he'd-

She froze, trashing even more wildly.

'Oh, we are not capable of the weaknesses of humans,' he placated, not that it did the job. 'I do wonder though…' He drew away. 'How it would feel, having these soulless creatures squirming within your body, beneath your skin…'

A hand reached back and snapped open the cage door.

* * *

><p>When push comes to shove…<p>

* * *

><p>There was a muffled scream before the line went dead. Déjà vu. They had already been through that, except it had been a female shrieking, and one just as familiar as the male who had done the same before.<p>

But instead of spiralling into a brief lapse of agony as the weight of a car travelling on a well worn road crashed into _him_, there was nothing except a dull echo in otherwise emptiness.

'Never…' he had said. 'I'll never…after what _you_ did…'

But Izumi. How much did she change things? Because if _he_, that unnamed blasphemy that was tearing up their lives for a power they could not give, had gone so far, he could go much, much further. The first could have, deniably, been written off as a coincidence. There was no evidence after all, and even if not, after striking a piece so close within the game one would think it unnecessary to go for one ever so slightly far away, but with that tacked down, there was so large a scope…

He could swear his brain was scrambled. He couldn't stand it. He just could not stand it. Susanoomon essentially _was_ the Digital World, and they already knew from Kouichi's original sacrifice that one life wasn't worth that, and it was that thought alone and the fact that it had been so meaningly snatched again that stopped him from giving in…but when more and more confusion and hurt and pain came about…

…he didn't think he _could_ fight. Not at what it could cost. It just sounded so farfetched, so crazy…

He really shouldn't have yelled at Takuya for saying as much to him. Not when he was thinking the same thing.

He thought it couldn't get any worse. But you never truly realised the worth of what you had until it was removed.

* * *

><p>…you can't help but bow in surrender…<p>

* * *

><p>His mother left him, but he didn't move from his position. No doubt he felt the rest of the time could pass alone. Perhaps something would come to him. But all that did was the clean white hospital with its sterile beds and equipment and the blood being rinsed off something as if it had never been there…<p>

If he could have stopped a friend from getting hurt, but the situation had started so surreal, so dreamlike…how was it all even possible?

It didn't matter. Not one but two of his friends, because either way it was a given…

His cell rang.

He had almost forgotten about it, and as such picked it up almost absentmindedly.

'You've been thinking hard.'

He froze. Every retort he could have given in the past flew out the window at the muffled shrieks behind him.

'So what's the verdict?'

He took a deep breath. Nobody would tell him. Nobody _could_. Whatever answer was right or wrong.

'Stop it. Just stop it. _Please_.'

Never had he resorted to that tone. But never had he been driven so deep. Never had there been two things so important to him.

'Just give me what I want.'

'_How?_'

A pause. 'Don't worry. You've already given it.' Then a more formal: 'Thank you for your cooperation. As a compensation prize…'

There was a beep, then a telemarketer's voice continued. 'You receive a free bonus package consisting of…'

The phone downstairs rang. A moment later Yuriko was poking her head into her son's room. 'That was Drago,' she said, easily disguising her worry with practice. 'The police found your friend.'

Takuya, who was still staring dumbly at his phone, said nothing. There was no point in asking. It was a given.

* * *

><p>…and then try and stand up again with a back forever crippled.<p>

* * *

><p>He was forced to leave his brother's side once visiting hours finished. Actually, he stayed for a good half hour after that, scaring away a nurse twenty minutes in, but apparently she reported to a Doctor who quite strictly ordered him out under threat of security bodily carrying him out.<p>

Once he may have resisted, but he felt empty, drained, lost…A headache was building between his temples. He half expected the phone to ring again…but all it had been was his cell, from his father a little over forty five minutes, and then silence.

He had no doubt that the mysterious king on the other side of the board had gotten what he had wanted. It was as if a light in him had been snuffed out. The same hollowness that the others had spoke off in the aftermath of their greatest adventure, the pedestal upon which they had all sat.

He'd barely talked to his father, not that the other had called him out on it. There was no purpose to do so, no matter what he understood or thought he understood…

Deep down, he was sick at himself. Above that was the question: could these events have been avoided?

If anything, passing the ambulance bay on his way to the train station buried that last mental image into his head. He could see the blonde hair spilling onto a white pillow, and a white sheet covering the rest of the pale form, splattered and stained with blood and strained as though someone had thrashed the entire time. A few words of conversation floated up to him, and it would have been enough to make him lose his lunch…if he had eaten any.

He didn't know how he was going to make himself visit her after this. He didn't know how he was going to visit either of them. Izumi and Kouichi. Both completely innocent.

Unknown to them, that wasn't exactly correct. But all they knew was what they had been told.

About an hour later, the phone rang again. His cell had died by then, lying numb in a box with other keepsakes, buried beneath a bandana and a blue jacket. He didn't get up to answer it; Satomi did, and she poked her head through the door to give him the news.

Kouichi was awake. He was awake but _he'd_ have to wait another eight hours to see him.

He didn't know if that was going to make it better or worse?

How were things going to be the same again?


	7. Final Destination

Author's Notes

And this is the end. Originally this story was fourteen chapters, but the chapters were in mind half as long as they turned out, so the overall length is the same despite the deletion of some scenes. Originally I had a court case and all, but then realised it's useless, and some stuff with poison but then decided there's plenty with the brain damage and we don't need to complicate things further. And a lot of things are open. Besides, I love the ending the way it is. It's what started the whole fic though I wasn't particularly satisfied with some other parts. That's the problem with writing the end first…*sighs*

Enjoy, and tell me what you think.

* * *

><p><span>Knowledge without Force<span>

Knowledge is power, but sometimes you need a little force to push. Experience shuns childhood, so it's not children caught in an adult's game. But a player had better yield, before others pay the price.

Kouji M & Takuya K

Genre/s: Drama/Suspense

Rating: M

* * *

><p><span>Epilogue<span>

Final Destination

'How are you?'

'I'm fine.'

She was lying through her teeth, but then no-one could expect anything different. The colour was yet to return to her skin, leaving it cold and pallid like a bleached bed-sheet, and the green seemed like the murky army green rather than the mysterious imp that used to dance in them. Not that he would risk touching her; the currently released restraints were enough of a reminder.

For the moment, apart from her short answers, she was sullenly silent. The silence was defensive, ironically so since the voice of the wind had always been loud and strong. But the girl in front of him looked nothing like the strong self-assured warrior of wind, nor did he, catching his dimmed reflection in the glass, look anything like the charismatic stubbornly proud warrior of flame.

Neither pair of eyes locked. The blonde's were drifting out the window, wrapping the blankets tightly around her. Looking distantly, you'd think she was just cold, but there was far more beneath the surface that went unsaid.

Recovering well. Hmmph. They were probably comparing to the mess they had brought in on the gurney, sickened by the sadism (seriously, who the hell cut up a girl's uterus and dumped squirming rats in before sewing her up) displayed and further sickened by the fact that whoever it was, was still out there, ready for another strike.

They knew nothing.

'What did you do?' Izumi asked suddenly, just as the other was about to succumb to the silence. If anything, in the few minutes that had passed she had grown slightly more pale, and beneath the wrapped sheets she clutched herself, specifically her torso, tightly. 'Did you give in?'

The tone made it hard to distinguish her viewpoint.

'What?' The other hadn't expected the sudden question.

"Once you've broken a few bricks, the rest crumble on their own," the female quoted in an almost mechanical tone.

'Yeah…' That was the truth, in all its brutal glory. 'Friendship verses humanity. It's a decision that always turns in on itself.' He paused, biting his lip hard before looking at the other. 'Which way would you have had it?'

She turned her head. 'It doesn't matter.'

'Dammit, it _does_.'

'Then you should have told me.'

Something in her face changed.

'Get out.'

'Izumi-'

'Get out!' she shrieked, before clawing at her blanket. The sudden spike dragged in a nurse as the other shrieked.

'Get out! Get out! Get them out!'

'They're gone.' The doctor had operated and removed the dead pests, but the subliminal message wasn't lost on anyone there to witness. Remove a few bricks, and even the strongest walls would crumble.

It was as if someone had put a new reel of film into the cassette and played loop. No matter who it was, it was the same result.

They really had fallen apart at the seams. No-one was really talking, connecting...no-one could. Damn that God-self-centred guy…or whatever he was. Between the three, (assuming the information they had managed to get out of each other), nothing new had been discovered. A shadow just came and went and left them sprawled to start over.

* * *

><p>'Kouichi...'<p>

It was said so quietly that the other couldn't hear him...not that it mattered. The damage to the temporal lobe meant the other's hearing was permanently shot. The neurologist claimed they might be able to use a hearing aid, but even that wouldn't help the comprehension of music, something that was also under the jurisdiction of the temporal lobe and apparently lost as soon as the grip was examined. Listening became obvious as well; the melodies were still as perfect as they had always been, but mechanical, hollow, empty…

…just like the person playing them.

He touched his shoulder and the other looked at him with slight annoyance showing in his face. That was another difference; the old Kouichi would never have had that look on his face.

'What is it?'

When the other said nothing, or rather wrote nothing and showed him, he turned his face away again. Neither twin had ever been one for small talk, but the silence between them was nothing like what it had once been. Nor was anything, including him.

At least he could talk fine. And read. The Doctors had been rather worried about that. And his memories too; the temporal lobe was responsible for quite a bit. But Kouichi had just quietly, and a little coldly which was unlike him, stated that there was nothing he had forgotten, but had only commented snappishly after a great deal of prodding that it might as well be a VHS he had once seen for all he felt about it.

Said so bluntly, it had hurt. Really, it had. And Kouichi had probably realised that as well because he had turned his head towards the window and remained silent, but it was a mark of how much the accident had changed him that no flicker fluttered across his eyes or face.

Doctor commented it was nothing unusual. That it happened a lot in road accidents.

But it had practically destroyed their relationship as brothers. He might as well have been some kid sitting in a corner of one of his classes. Not that no-one tried during breaks within the haul to recovery, but nothing could be substituted for sincerity.

Nothing could change the past. But still he clung to it. Unlike his brother who had learnt from his past err and had chosen the other route, to look towards the future. And perhaps even now, that was what he was doing…

He had brought his cello. The one his brother had loved playing. He had, but it wasn't the sweet contentment or the happy little jig, or even the wild joy he had once played at Takuya's birthday party and triggered some sort of wild dance.

The elder twin picked up the bow again to set it horizontally, adjusting himself slightly so that the S-string tuning peg rested just below the left ear, and the cello's body balanced as comfortable as possible on his knees and the upper boat on his upper chest. The pale fingers, all five, curled around the bow, as it was drawn gently across the strings. Force alternated in the index finger and to a lesser extent, the middle finger, guiding the bow perpendicular to the strings and never straying too far from the fingerboard.

A soft, mellow sound floated out, hardly defined but beautiful in its own haunting way. The observer listened; that was all he could do, watching a deaf boy yearn and reach for a thing he could no longer comprehend. As for the player, the cellist, he closed his eyes as he continued bowing _sul tasto_, for a brief moment listening the melodies sound in ears that could no longer hear...but as fast as they had descended upon him, they were gone, without sense, without purpose, and he was left with simply the very real possibility that an old memory had surfaced in association with the new play.

The bow still moved, rhythmically, methodologically, the tune repeating itself over and over, never to be heard for the one who yearned for it. But he didn't, not really; everything simply felt numb. It was old habits, he supposed, that drove him here, told him to play a tune he could not hear and gain nothing of, simply repeating the same hand movements over and over and over again.

He opened his eyes again, lost in the repetition, the only thing of the present that could hold its form. His head, for a moment, snapped upwards, tilting towards the sky, and those eyes, still cerulean blue but no longer the sparkling gem they had once been, met ones that should have identical if an age didn't separate them.

For reasons he could not explain, the heart he could barely feel cried at that. Not at the thought; it had not processed at the first tear that tethered at the edge of his lashes, and it had faded into nothing soonafter. But at the simple fact, that he was something forever gone now. Something he had risked so much to regain, was now gone.

More tears followed the first, glistening in the afternoon sun, as he felt warm arms embrace him. They were physically warm, gentle he supposed, but there was nothing intimate about the hold. Nothing substantial. Or perhaps there was and he simply remained deaf to it...just like he remained deaf to his world. Something tickled his right ear; it was annoying, he thought for a moment, but he forgot ever thinking that thereafter. The tears still flowed though, slowly, like a spring barely trickling a sustenance that could save mankind, marking their path with small moist tracks down his cheeks. For a moment, a single drop hovered, at his chin, before it fell on to the hands over the cello, pale like his, but warm as opposed to his cold, marking the spot it had fallen as it evaporated on the skin.

It reminded him of another time...but they weren't his memories; not really. The old Kouichi was dead; the one who had been soft, gentle, compassionate, artistic...he was a new one: numb, almost mechanical in a way. Unfeeling, stagnated within the cycle of repetition which was the only thing that even _felt_ familiar to him. But the motions meant nothing, and he knew now they never would.

Kouji watched him play on, and the tears that tricked down his cheeks. He held his own; it was unfair to indulge in that comfort while it remained so foreign to his twin. He cried, he saw that, but those moist eyes held not the gentle soul of darkness they once had. All they held was a boy looking for his footing in the world and carrying with him a burden he could not hold. He would take that burden away. Really, he would...if it had been anything else. But he was selfish, too selfish. And his brother was paying for it. And not just him; they were all playing the price for playing an adult's game.

'I'm so sorry,' he whispered brokenly, for the first time to him since he had awoken. But he knew the apology fell on deaf ears, just another burden to carry, regardless of what others said or tried to say. Because the one person who could lift that burden from him, the one person he would allow, was now simply a wraith, a shadow of his former self, and he would not, could not, comprehend the pain that embraced him still.

He tightened his hold, attempting to reassure his heart of the tangibility. Perhaps a little too hard, as the head tilted slightly to regard him. It seemed so reminiscent of the Ni-san he knew and loved that hope almost exploded...but there was only the dullest recognition in his eyes, and nothing more.

Within his hold, the hand holding the bow still moved, singing an indecisive melody to the air.

* * *

><p><em>The End<em>

* * *

><p><span>Post Author's Notes<span>

Oddly enough, I actually wrote this ending (from "the elder twin picked up his bow…") before starting the first chapter. The scene had just been swimming around in my head for too long, screaming out: 'Write me! Write me!' So I did, and when I got to that last sentence, I almost started bawling. (Luckily I didn't; I was supposed to be doing a biology assignment).

I didn't explain Junpei and Tomoki's reactions because I already alluded to them in the previous chapters. It was really only Izumi and Kouichi who needed explaining, and of course the main characters need to be around for curtains. Also, as for the intentions to our unnamed "villain" – one of my rare cases where there is a clear-cut villain, it was in the end a matter of intention. Will is the most powerful weapon a creature of free will can have, and that's basically humans unless you want to get into religious aspects which is a different story altogether. Kouji and Takuya carried the brunt of Susanoomon and Kouichi carried only the key that triggered the process but nothing of the being himself, seeing as he never became Susanoomon. That should be enough to piece the rest together, but keep in mind it is fairy open ended so anything could still happen, even though the fic is finished.


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